Brookline to change immigration policy?

Brookline town officials have ordered a review of local policy pertaining to cooperation with federal immigration officials in the wake of a national debate on the issue.

“Hopefully what will come out of this is [a policy for our police that recognizes] that all people have certain constitutional rights, including the 4th amendment right not to be seized by the government,” said Selectman Bernard Greene, who is the board liaison for the town’s Diversity Inclusion and Community Relations Commission, charged with the policy review.

A working group made up of six people, including four people on the commission, a member of the public and of town government have met twice to look at the existing policy.

It turns out there is no official “Immigrations Customs Enforcement Policy,” according to Police Superintendent Mark Morgan, though there was a special order labeled “Secure Communities” dated 2012 and signed by the chief of police. ICE is the commonly used acronym that refers to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The working group is scheduled to propose language to the full commission Feb. 15. If that language is approved it could make a recommendation to selectmen on possible changes to the policy as soon as next week, according to Anthony Naro, who sits on the commission and is part of the working group.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us. It’s a complicated issue. There are a lot of moving parts,” said Naro, who added he was optimistic that the full commission would approve it in some shape or form. But, he stressed it’s a place-holder policy.

“It’s only intended to be temporary until the Supreme Judicial Court issues its final ruling on the matter. We’re creating policy in a matter of two weeks; this is more out of necessity to protect people right now,” he said.

After looking into the policies in surrounding communities like Somerville, Cambridge and even Boston, all municipalities weighing in on the debate following President Trump's executive order, which would temporarily ban people from coming to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries and has raised concerns about stepped up deportation of undocumented immigrants already here, it seemed many looked appealing until they got to the part where they gave police discretion in some cases to hold people for ICE, he said.

“That’s unconstitutional. We decided there needs to be a policy presented to the Board of Selectmen right now to deal with this,” said Naro.

Brookline Police’s special order outlining the Secure Communities information-sharing partnership between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI and how that affects Brookline Police, allows officers to hold suspects for 48 hours on ICE detainers. If that person is being held only because ICE issued a detainer and ICE does not take custody in the allotted time, that person will be released, according to the policy.

“How did the existing policy get into place? It doesn’t matter. The people who are in charge now are in favor of changing the policy,” said Naro.

The working group’s new policy – if approved by the full Diversity Commission as well as the Board of Selectmen - would rescind that order and advise anyone arrested that they have a right to talk to their embassy. Another part of the policy would be that no one is to be asked what their immigration status is, though they would still be booked according to procedure, said Naro.

The trick, he said, is creating a policy that follows the law.

Everyone gets fingerprinted. Because it’s all electronic and it gets sent automatically to the State Police system. From there the information goes to the FBI system, then on to ICE. Within a couple of hours the system will tell you if there are warrants for the person. It will also tell you if it’s a detainable person and if ICE says this person is deportable, they’ll issue a detainer to hold the person for 48 hours.

“And that’s the issue here,” said Naro. “Our policy says if you get an ICE detainer and you don’t have a criminal warrant the Brookline police can’t detain you.”

Naro said they’ve sent the proposed policy to the police chief, who sent word he supported it.

“As a resident of Brookline that makes me feel good,” said Naro.

Police Chief Daniel O’Leary told the Board of Selectmen the police didn’t track how many times ICE detainers popped up and estimated it was rare. This year he has announced the department will start tracking any interactions with ICE.

The way it works now across the country, undocumented immigrants if they are detained or charged with something they won’t post bail for fear they’ll be detained. The working group’s proposed policy says if you don’t have a criminal reason to be held, then Brookline Police won’t pick you up and detain you if you get out on bail.

But the policy the working group is proposing this week to the diversity commission is just part of what the town is asking, stressed Greene.

He said it's important to remember selectmen are asking town services and support be provided to all, including refugees and immigrants without asking their immigration status. And they're charging members of civil society such as churches and non profits to open their doors and their hearts to people who come here as refuges and immigrants. And they want Town Counsel be ready to work with other town counsels and the Attorney General's office to address any potential legal challenges down the line.

Trump has issued an executive order to bar sanctuary cities from receiving most federal funds and that worries some. The term “sanctuary city” lacks a specific legal definition, but it’s generally understood to mean a a municipality that opposes enforcing federal immigration laws.

But others are ready regardless.

Brookline residents are quick to point out that Brookline already considers itself a sanctuary city. And selectmen reaffirmed support for resolutions voted on in the 1985 and 2006 Town Meetings on sanctuary cities in a statement.

And resident Anne Weaver is leading a charge to speed up the process with a citizen’s petition to push for a change in the local police ICE detainer policy.

As of Tuesday night, the petition had 131 signatures.

Senator Cynthia Creem and Rep. Frank Smizik are sponsoring a statewide bill called the Safe Communities Act, S.1596, which limits local and state law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration officials. The Safe Communities Act also includes a state ban on aiding with any federal immigration raids on any particular neighborhoods or factories in Massachusetts. It also bans state resources for a Muslim registry.

“We’re a welcome, open community. And when people come here from oppression, fleeing terrorism fleeing the traumas of the world, we’re going to be welcoming to them, they’re human beings. And that means we’re not going to look into their immigration status,” said Greene.